VentureBeat provides some additional detail on the Redbox Instant (CSTR, VZ) launch. Standalone access to Instant's streaming will cost just $6/month ($2/month cheaper than Netflix, but for a much smaller library), and credits good for 4 Redbox rentals/month can be tacked on for an extra $2/month - provided the credits are used, that's a 58% discount from Redbox's normal $1.20/title. "Hundreds of thousands" of people are said to have signed up during a 3-month testing period.

Every development in this space--bidding wars for catalogs and new releases, escalating costs of originals, aggressive end consumer pricing--is putting pressure on NFLX margins. Imagine what will happen when GOOG and AAPL fully engage AMZN and MSFT, as the major digital platforms square off on this strategic battleground.

Good point on existing deals though most have limited terms and some of the most attractive extant content remains up for grabs (e.g. HBO originals, top Showtime originals). Plus new TV series programming is constantly being produced, and new catalog is always the most commercially attractive. But that's part of why new entrants like MSFT are focused on making originals.

I signed up about two months ago and canceled because there was nothing in the catalog not in Netflix or Amazon. The "free" credits were nice but then you consider they were really more expensive if you didn't stream anything. I love the move as a streaming consumer but as an investor I don't think this is a slam dunk.

Redbox streaming looks like an even worse deal than previously noted. If yesterday's 5:19 PM ET news release on Seeking Alpha is accurate, a full 4,000 out of the 8,600 titles available online will only be available for an extra charge--hardly a bargain.

Yesterday I did a check of the "rent/buy" section in the Redbox Instant website. It showed that the purchase price of those selections is $9.99 ($14.99 for HD), with a rental price of $2.99 ($3.99 for HD). Moreover, many of those releases are available for purchase only, with no rental option at all! The costs would really start to add up.

Tonight I looked further into the Redbox website and saw the titles of what appear to be some of their regular streaming selection. The list was not impressive.